The Lions have not yet qualified for the Investec Champions Cup despite finishing seventh on the Vodacom URC log.
While the top eight teams in the URC standings would normally secure qualification for next season’s premier European competition, this season’s EPCR permutations have created a scenario in which coach Ivan van Rooyen’s side could still miss out.
The complication centres around the winners of the second-tier EPCR Challenge Cup.
Under EPCR regulations, any team that wins the tournament automatically qualifies for the following season’s Champions Cup, even if they failed to do so through their domestic league position. That qualification place then comes out of the domestic league’s allocation of eight spots.
Ulster, who finished ninth on the URC log, will play French club Montpellier in Friday night’s Challenge Cup final. If the Irish side wins, it would claim a Champions Cup place despite finishing outside the top eight.
That would come at the expense of Connacht, who finished eighth in the URC.
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However, there is another possible twist involving the Lions.
If Connacht were then to win the URC title, they would qualify automatically for the Champions Cup as URC champions.
In that scenario, Connacht would effectively reclaim a Champions Cup place, with the seventh-placed Lions dropping into the Challenge Cup instead.
Europe awaits.
#ForOurCity | #LionsPride pic.twitter.com/G89LZ68zw8
— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) May 18, 2026
Photo: Gallo Images
The post Lions could miss out on Champions Cup appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
The Lions have not yet qualified for the Investec Champions Cup despite finishing seventh on the Vodacom URC log.
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